Speaking Of Non-Profits…

Gov. Andrew Cuomo just announced his former top aide-turned-Financial Services Department Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky will chair the new task force charged with investigating executive and administrator compensation levels at state-funded non-profits.

In addition, as CapCon reported earlier today, two Long Island lawmakers – Sen. Carl Marcellino and Assemblyman Steve Englebright, who chair the Senate and Assembly Governor Operations Committees, respectively – will also serve on the task force, along with Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez.

In other non-profit news, Sen. Shirley Huntley’s office noted in the wake of Cuomo’s task force announcement yesterday that the Queens Democrat introduced a bill this past session directing OPWDD, OMH and OASAS to establish minimum training requirements for all board members and trustees of nonprofits and facilities subject to the jurisdiction of their offices.

A copy of the bill appears below.

A similar bill was vetoed in 2008 by then-Gov. David Paterson, and this version has been altered slightly to address his concerns. According to Huntley’s office, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has the bill, but never formally introduced it.

It’s a bit ironic that Huntley, who is reportedly being investigated by the AG’s office for her ties to non-profits to which she has directed thousands of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded member items, has introduced a bill intended to tighten up practices at non-profits. But there you are.

Also, while researching the Huntley probe, I was reminded that AG Eric Schneiderman announced his own non-profit reform task force less than a month ago.

New York Council of Nonprofits CEO Doug Sauer, who has expressed concern that Cuomo is using a broad brush to mischaracterize the entire non-profit world as corrupt, is serving on Schneiderman’s task force.